To make truly great products, we feel it’s crucial to build them in ways that are ethical and environmentally responsible.

To make truly great products, we feel it’s crucial to build them in ways that are ethical and environmentally responsible.

All over the world, people are building Apple products. And we want to make sure that each person is treated with dignity and respect. This is why we create programs that educate and empower workers, and help preserve our environment’s precious resources for future generations. It’s a massive challenge — one where our work is never done. But each year we implement meaningful, lasting changes across our supply chain.

Around the globe, Apple employees are united in bringing equality, human rights and respect for the environment to the deepest layers of our supply chain.

Accountability

We go deep into our supply chain to enforce our social and environmental standards.

Accountability and improvement — for our suppliers and for ourselves — are among our core objectives. So we continually strengthen our Supplier Code of Conduct to help implement safer and more ethical working conditions. In 2014, our auditors conducted 633 comprehensive, in-person audits — a 40 per cent increase over 2013. When we find noncompliance, which we do in every audit, we partner with suppliers and work onsite to drive change. And then we work to raise the bar even higher.

Empowering Workers

We empower workers through education.

Apple is committed to providing and expanding educational opportunities for workers in our supply chain. Since 2008, more than 861,000 workers have taken advantage of our Supplier Employee Education and Development (SEED) program, which offers free courses ranging from economics to English. Now SEED is expanding beyond the traditional classroom setting to include more cutting-edge tools, including a new iPad-based learning program.

After participating in SEED, I was able to gain career development skills that inspired me to pursue human resources as my career.

Xueyue GongHubei Province, China

Labour and Human Rights

We demand that suppliers treat workers fairly and ethically at all times.

Every supplier that does business with Apple must demonstrate the highest commitment to protecting workers’ rights. This includes abiding by a maximum 60-hour working week. Last year, 92 per cent of all our suppliers’ working weeks complied with our 60-hour maximum standard. It also means holding suppliers accountable to ethical hiring practices. In 2014, we helped over 4,500 foreign contract workers recoup US$3.96 million in excessive fees paid to labour brokers. Our dedication to human rights even extends to using more conflict-free minerals in our products.

Health and Safety

We insist on safe and healthy facilities for all workers.

Whether it’s in Cupertino or Chengdu, worker safety is of paramount importance. We’ve found that well-trained managers and employees are essential to the process. In 2014, participants in our Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Academy launched more than 870 projects in their facilities to improve working conditions. Apple also initiated an extensive mapping program to strengthen chemical management processes across our supply chain.

Environment

We hold our products and processes to the highest environmental standards.

Our planet has a finite amount of precious resources. We’re doing our part to conserve them, including more than 1.8 billion litres of fresh water, through our Clean Water Program. And by educating managers on air pollution control and other subjects through our 18-month, 19-course EHS Academy. It’s an ongoing effort, but we’re committed to making Apple products and processes safer for people and the planet.

Our Suppliers

We publish our guidelines and suppliers for the world to see.

From the start of our supplier responsibility efforts, we’ve pushed ourselves to be increasingly transparent about our work. Every year we publish our top 200 suppliers, list the names of the smelters in our supply chain — including their verification status with conflict-free audit programs — and freely share the detailed internal standards behind our Code of Conduct. We hope our openness inspires other companies to do the same.